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02 August 2022
by Akhil Kadidal
The PLA has formally commissioned the tanker version of the XAC Y-20 into service. This suggests that additional air refuellers will be manufactured. (Xi'an Aircraft Company)
China has formally commissioned the air refueller variant of the Y-20 Kunpeng jet-powered strategic transport aircraft.
Senior Colonel Shen Jinke, spokesperson of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), said during a press conference on 31 July that the tanker has started combat-readiness training. “The aircraft recently carried out aerial refuelling exercises with the J-16 strike fighter above the sea, and the operations helped to improve combat training,” he said.
Images by the state-owned broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) show the aircraft using a probe-and-drogue system to refuel two Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) J-16D fighter aircraft.
Col Shen added during the press conference that the aircraft has been designated as the YY-20. Similar to the Y-20, the new tanker is manufactured by Xi'an Aircraft Company (XAC), which is a subsidiary of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).
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https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202207/1271803.shtml
PLA sends next-gen aerial tanker YU-20 for combat readiness training, vows to safeguard natl sovereignty with warplane sorties around Taiwan
Global Times
4-5 minutes
PLA sends next-gen aerial tanker YU-20 for combat readiness training, vows to safeguard natl sovereignty with warplane sorties around Taiwan
A Y-20 aircraft affiliated with a regiment attached to the PLA Central Theater Command Air Force releases flares during a training exercise. Photo: Zhang Meng
China's next-generation aerial tanker, the YU-20, has started to join combat readiness training, as the aircraft is expected to boost other warplanes' long-range operational capabilities, announced a spokesperson of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force, who also vowed to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity with warplane sorties around the island of Taiwan.
Senior Colonel Shen Jinke made the remarks at a press conference in Beijing on Sunday, the People's Daily and China Central Television reported.
The YU-20 is a tanker variant spawned by China's domestically developed Y-20 transport aircraft, analysts said.
The YU-20 aerial tanker has recently conducted aerial refueling exercises at sea with the J-16 fighter jet, enhancing the aircraft's realistic combat training level, Shen said.
As China's next-generation tanker aircraft, the YU-20 can effectively enhance the aviation force's long-range operational activities, while maintaining the same functionality as the Y-20 transport aircraft in airlift missions, Shen said.
While this is the first official introduction of the YU-20 by the PLA, the aerial tanker's existence has been widely known to the general public because of its missions around the island of Taiwan.
On November 28, 2021, a total of 27 PLA warplanes including a YU-20 tanker aircraft entered the island of Taiwan's self-proclaimed southwest air defense identification zone, the island's defense authorities said in a press release at the time.
This is the first time a YU-20 aerial refueling aircraft has been spotted in a PLA flyover near the island of Taiwan, media on the island reported. The reports said that the YU-20 refueling aircraft apparently carried out aerial refueling procedures with two J-16s.
Shen said at the Sunday press conference that the encirclement flights of the PLA Air Force's multiple types of warplanes around the island of Taiwan have enhanced the PLA's capabilities to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The PLA Air Force has firm will, full confidence and sufficient capability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Shen said.
By receiving aerial refueling, warplanes are able to have extended range and operational time, making aerial tanker a power amplifier in modern warfare, a Beijing-based military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Sunday.
This will enable the PLA aircraft to operate extensively also to the east side of the island of Taiwan, giving Taiwan secessionists no ability to hide while also intercepting foreign forces that might wish to interfere, the expert said.
At the press conference, Shen also announced that the PLA Air Force will hold an open day and aviation expo event from August 26 to 30 in Changchun, Northeast China's Jilin Province.
The remains of Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-53) will return to China on September 16 from South Korea. The PLA Air Force previously dispatched Y-20s to repatriate the remains and had J-11 fighter jets to escort them, Shen said.
This escort unit has now switched to fly J-20 stealth fighter jets, Shen said.
我西南空域空情動態
我西南空域空情動態
Air activities in the southwestern ADIZ of R.O.C.
中共解放軍活動動態:
一、日期Date:
中華民國110年11月28日(星期日 日間)
November 28,2021(Sunday daytime)
二、機型Aircraft Type:
空警-500機 2架次(Two KJ-500 AEW&C)
運-9通信對抗機 1架次(One Y-9 EW)
轟-6機 5架次(Five H-6)
運油-20 1架次(One Y-20 Aerial Refueling)
殲-10機 6架次(Six J-10)
殲-11機 4架次(Four J-11)
殲-16機 8架次(Eight J-16)
三、活動概要Activity Area:
活動示意圖、照片
Flight paths as illustrated
四、空軍應處作為Reactions:
派遣空中巡邏兵力應對、廣播驅離、防空飛彈追監
CAP aircraft tasked, radio warnings issued and air defense missile systems deployed to monitor the activity
첫댓글 어떻든 하나하나 갖추어나가는 중국 군사력.. 아직도 성능이 못 미친다고 하겠지만 매번 퀀텀점프하고 있고..... 이번 대만해협 위기상황은 미국측에서 먼저 불붙인 상황인데 과연 진지하게 전면전까지 상정하고 준비하고 있나 모르겠습니다. 아직 우크라이나도 해결된 게 아닌데다 비축물자도 많이 축났을텐데... 중국도 독기가 올라있고 어설프게 물러날수도 없는 상황이 되서.. 당장 러시아가 유사시 중국을 지원하겠다고 먼저 양념을 뿌려버리니...어떻든 벌어진 일 미국이 어설프게 물러나면 정말 무책임한거겠죠..
DF-17도 시험발사했더라구요. 인민해방군 해군 함정이 일본을 둘러다닌 지는 근 한 달이 다 돼가는 것 같고.
미국이 2026년까진 중국이 대만을 치지는 않을 거라고 본다는 뉴스가 있었는데, 중국이 1인 독재국가가 됐다는 사실을 간과하는 게 아닌가 싶습니다. 항상 개인이 예상가능한 결정만 내리는 건 아닌데요. 하여튼, 이렇게 판을 벌린 이상 단단히 결심을 했다고 봐야겠죠.
외모는 C-17, 잘 뜯어보면 IL-76인 저 녀석이 드디어 공중 급유기로 까지..
IL-76을 따라가는 모습입니다. 저런 기체를 만들어내는 모습도 부럽습니다. 흠.